1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the suspension of loads and more particularly to a method and device for suspending loads based on the load's center of gravity. The device further provides for precise adjustment and focusing of the load at a desired elevation and azimuth. As used herein, the term elevation is defined relative to a horizontal plane and the term azimuth is defined relative to the centerline of the suspended load.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
It is often desirable to suspend instruments such as, but not limited to, loudspeakers, video projectors, and video monitors at elevated positions. For effective operation, it is beneficial to provide for easy adjustment and focusing of the instrument at a desired elevation and azimuth.
Traditional suspension devices have three common characteristics: (1) the devices are based on the geometric attributes of the load to be suspended, (2) the adjustment of a load's elevation operates on a nonlinear control function, and (3) adjustment of load's azimuth is not possible. Such characteristics present problems. A device that is designed for a particular load geometry causes problems of inconvenience and cost. Such a device cannot be used interchangeably among loads with differing geometries. A different device adapted for each particular load's geometry is required for each different load. Thus, one would need to have access to a vast inventory of different devices to accommodate a wide range of loads. Nonlinear control functions, on the other hand, present problems with the effective operation of the device. The use of a nonlinear control function makes adjustment extremely counter intuitive. Precise adjustment and focusing of the load at a desired elevation and azimuth is difficult and often not possible with such devices.
What is needed, and hence, what would contribute to the state of the art, is a single suspension device that can be used interchangeably on loads with various geometric attributes. Further, it would be desirable to make a device with a linear control function to provide easy and precise adjustment and focusing of the load at a desired elevation. Furthermore, it would be desirable to direct the load at a desired azimuth.
In the present state of the art, when one or more loads are hung in a vertical chain, the tensile forces are transferred through the body of the upper load requiring reinforcements within the upper load such as an internally constructed steel frame to keep the bottom load from tearing apart the upper load. The internal steel frame adds cost to manufacture the load and it adds unnecessary weight to the suspended load.
The present invention is designed and constructed such that when it is used to hang more than one load in a vertical chain, the tensile forces of any load or loads lower in the chain are transferred through the devices higher in the vertical chain.
The present invention allows for the suspension of a load or vertical chain of loads by two points only, instead of three or four points per load in the dominant prior art.